Just Who Is the Homeless Young Man Who Took Miley Cyrus' Place at the VMA’s?"

10:38 AM EDT, August 25, 2014

It's the VMA moment everyone is talking about. The moment when Miley Cyrus didn't accept her big award for “Video of the Year,” instead sending one guy to the stage.

He said in the speech, “My name is Jesse and I am accepting this award on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth."

His speech left Cyrus in tears.

It's a far cry from last year's twerk-tastic performance with Robin Thicke that ignited a firestorm of controversy.

But just who is Jesse, who Cyrus picked to raise awareness about runaways?

Here's what we know so far. He's 22 years old and is reportedly from Oregon. He met Cyrus less than a week ago at a Los Angeles shelter called My Friend's Place. Cyrus paid for his stylish outfit and for a night at the swanky BLVD Hotel and Spa in Studio City.

He was her date for the VMA’s. She documented the whole night with photos posted on her Instagram account, including one of the two at In-and-Out Burger after the show.

In his speech, Jesse said, “Outside these doors are 54,000 human beings who have no place to call home.”

Her stunt is getting mixed reviews. While many are praising Cyrus, some are blasting the singer for exploiting Jesse and questioning the sincerity of her tears.

"Poser... Only doing this to make herself look better,” wrote one man on her Facebook page.

And The New York Times weighed in, wondering if Cyrus' move marked, "A serious turn toward philanthropy? Or a crass effort to improve her image?"

But she posted a video on her Facebook page insisting that inviting Jesse to center stage is not a stunt, and urging fans to know how they can help with contributions going to My Friend's Place, the shelter where she and Jesse met.

In the video she said, "And to show you how grateful I am for your support, if you donate you get entered for a chance to win a trip to Brazil and to come see me on the Bangerz Tour.”

My Friend’s Place executive director Heather Carmichael says even though Cyrus visited last week, they had no idea what she was up to.

Carmichael told INSIDE EDITION, "We didn't expect that. He didn't expect that. He contemplated for a second and then he said, 'Yes.'"